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Dec 27, 2017dnk rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Macbeth is one of my favorite plays, but I've always been frustrated with how the leads are portrayed: Macbeth isn't bold enough to acknowledge his own ambition until Lady Macbeth selfishly pushes him to it, but both descend into madness once events spiral out of their control. This production gets it right: Lady Macbeth is not barren (an interpretation which never made any sense to me) but the child she and Macbeth had has died. She latches onto the promise made to Macbeth by the witches as a way to salve her grief. Macbeth, for his part, is indeed tempted by what he's promised, and when he wavers, Lady Macbeth does push him through (in a much more sexually charged interpretation than most have seen before). But while she may have been satisfied with the throne, Macbeth becomes obsessed with his destiny--and future. What fascinates me about Macbeth is his relationship to prophecy: it's a promise, a threat, and a crutch, and his dependence on it changes him from a skilled and brave general to a raving lunatic. Fassbender plays that, as well as his final return to reality, perfectly. And while I always imagined the witches to be the cauldron-stirrers seen in most productions, I thought the director's alternative characterization--and cast addition--was brilliant.